Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries. I'm just borrowing.

Note: Previously, in "Freedom isn't Free," Damon calls Elena to check on her, after which he and Stefan change their plans regarding Kol. Instead of killing him, they decide to hold him hostage to lure his father out and then, kill the both of them.

Thank you for the reviews so far! You guys are awesome.

Docks – Later...

Damon couldn't help but get a feeling of deja vu as he and Stefan walked into the warehouse by the docks, bringing the still unconscious Kol with them. They had chosen this place because it seemed private enough for their plan to be put into action.

"Where should I put him?"

Stefan's question brought Damon out of his reverie and he nodded toward a chair near the center of the room. "Over there. I'll get some rope." He heard Kol stirring a bit. "Better hurry, he's not going to be out for much longer."

Stefan nodded and placed Kol in the chair in question and Damon found some rope nearby, which they tied over the duct tape they bound his wrists with. Once they were done, Stefan looked at his brother, a concerned look on his face.

"Okay, we got him here," he said. "Should we call the old man or..."

"No, not yet," said Damon. "I want to get some information out of this bastard first. Find out why he was after us." He took the duct tape off Kol's mouth. "This might get a bit rough, Stefan, so you might want to..."

"I don't care, I'm staying."

"I mean it, this is going to get rough," said Damon. "I don't want you to see what I'm going to do. Go outside."

"I said I don't care," said Stefan. "Damon, I know you want to protect me and I respect that, but I want to find out why we were targeted just as badly as you do. So, don't tell me to stay out of it, damn it, because I won't. I'm not a little kid anymore."

"Oh, will you two stop with the arguing? It's pathetic."

Kol's voice snapped Damon and Stefan to attention and, fuming, Damon punched him, causing his lip to bleed.

"Well, at least I didn't have to wake you," he said. "Now, why are you targeting my family?"

"The primary target was really that slut, Detective Gilbert," said Kol. "You were merely a pawn to lure her into a trap. At least, that's what Rebekah told me." He smirked in spite of the pain he was in. "By the way, Damon, how is your little wifey? I hear you're having a blessed event."

Damon fumed again and hit him again. "Watch your mouth, Kol, or I'll knock it clear off your face. You don't get to talk about Elena, especially not in that way. She's not a slut, and she never will be either."

Not giving Kol a chance to reply, he added, "Where's Mikael? What's he up to?"

Kol sneered at him. "Screw you."

Damon growled and hit him again, not caring if his mouth was filling with blood. "Wrong answer, asshole. You have no idea what's going to happen to you within the next several hours. See, my brother and I are going to call Mikael and tell him we have his little prized puppy. Then, when he comes here with the 'ransom' that we're asking for, we're going to put bullets in both your heads."

"Go ahead, put your little plan into action," said Kol, spitting out blood. "You have no idea what this will cost you."

"Yeah, keep giving me your empty threats, Kol," said Damon. "Pretty soon, that mouth of yours is going to be silenced for good." He looked at Stefan. "I've had enough. Stefan, call Mikael. Tell him where we are and to bring the ransom."

Stefan nodded. "How much should we demand?"

"I don't know, about $500,000," said Damon. "That should suffice."

Stefan took out his phone and looked at Kol. Shit, he looked terrible. His mouth was filled with blood from the punches he had taken from Damon's fists, but he didn't say anything, just did as Damon had said and dialed Mikael's number. After several rings, he heard an older man's voice on the other end.

"Yes?"

Stefan didn't hesitate as he said, "Listen up, old man, we've got Kol, and whether he lives or dies depends on how quickly you can get here with the ransom."

"Where the hell are you?" said Mikael, his voice bordering on hysterics. "Tell me!"

"The abandoned warehouse near the docks," said Stefan. "Bring $500,000 in a gym bag. Unless you want your little boy to get a bullet in his head, you'd better get down here ASAP, you got me?"

Not giving Mikael a chance to reply, Stefan hung up the phone and Damon nodded, having heard the conversation.

"You did good, Stefan," he said. "Now, we wait until Mikael shows up with the 'ransom' for Kol."

"Yeah, but I've never done anything like that before."

"The first time is always a little scary. I know I felt that way when I first started committing crimes for Klaus," said Damon. "Don't worry, after this, you'll never have to do this again. It was only a one-time deal."

"Thank God," said Stefan. "I'm not like that, Damon. I could never do what I just did."

Damon nodded. "I know you're not. And I never want that for you, or anyone. It's almost over, and you'll go back to the way things were before all this bullshit happened."

Kol, hearing them, spoke up then. "If I have to hear any more of that sweet shit coming from either of you, I'm going to vomit all over myself."

Damon looked at Kol and placed another piece of duct tape over his mouth. "Oh, yeah? Well, let me tell you something, you won't have to hear it, because you're going to be dead as soon as Daddy gets here. Then, you'll spend eternity in the same place I sent Klaus and Rebekah." He saw the look on Kol's face when he mentioned Rebekah. "Yeah, you heard me, you son of a bitch, Rebekah is dead. I killed her before I escaped from her, which is why you weren't able to get a hold of her."

No sooner did Damon finish speaking than the sound of a car pulling up was heard outside. Stefan looked at his brother and said, "Mikael's here."

"That was quick," said Damon. "I've never seen anyone so eager to die before."

Stefan was about to say something in response when Mikael walked into the warehouse and when he saw Damon, he smirked and said, "Well, well, what a surprise this is. Damon, dear boy, I haven't seen you in a long time. You've grown into quite a remarkable man, even better than Niklaus." He then looked at Stefan. "I see you've got yourself a little sidekick of your own. What's your name, son?"

Damon kept his eyes on Mikael as he said, "Don't answer him, Stefan."

"Stefan, eh? Well, I believe there's someone here who'd very much like to see you." He signaled for one of his thugs to come in and brought in what looked like a young woman with a cloth bag over her head. When she was on her knees beside him, Mikael pulled the bag off to reveal...

"Caroline!"

Caroline looked at Stefan, tears streaming down her cheeks. She went to speak, but she had a cloth tied over her mouth. Damon's heart pounded. He didn't know that Mikael was going to have this up his sleeve. He thought they were home free, but now, they had another situation to deal with.

Note: I know, I'm evil, but I thought I'd make things interesting. How will our heroes get out of this? Stay tuned!

ENJOY THE UPDATE AND REMEMBER TO REVIEW!